The present invention relates to a vent enabling free air exchange between an area within a building and ambient atmosphere, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a vent for installation on a roof ridge of a building.
It is useful, and in many locales a building code requirement, that certain interior areas of a building, such as an area underneath a roof, be provided with a means to permit air exchange. The ventilation prevents undue heat buildup that can render the living quarters of the building uncomfortable and that can impose unreasonable energy requirements for cooling. Proper ventilation also preserves the structural integrity of the building structure, such as the roof and roof coverings.
A combination of ridge and soffit vents provides an example of a means for providing attic ventilation. The ridge vent permits hot and/or humid air to rise up through the peak of the roof and the soffit vent enables ambient air to be drawn into a lower part of the attic area to replace the hot and/or humid air escaping through the ridge vent.
Examples of roof ridge vents are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,595 issued to McCorsley et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,298,613 B1, 6,308,472 B1, 5,902,432 and 5,673,521 issued to Coulton et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,277,024 B1, 6,981,916 B2 and 7,182,688 B2 issued to Coulton, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,699 issued to Spinelli and U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2007/0054612 A1 of Ehrman et al., 2006/0079173 A1 and 2006/0154597 A1 of Coulton et al., and 2006/0040608 A1 of Coulton. Each of the above referenced patents and published applications are owned, or co-owned, by Benjamin Obdyke Incorporated, the assignee of the present application, and all but one disclose a roof ridge vent that can be rolled into a spiral roll after manufacture. The exception is U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,024 B1 issued to Coulton which discloses an injection-molded, shingle-over, sectional roof ridge vent currently being sold under the trademark XTRACTOR VENT®.
Injection-molded, shingle-over roof ridge vents that are rollable are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,233,887 B1 and 6,260,315 B1 issued to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,581 B2 issued to Robinson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,144 B2 issued to Hansen et al., D.511,847 S and D.511,848 S of Ciepliski, U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,535 B2 issued to Ciepliski et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,828 B2 issued to Headrick and by U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0088928 A1 and 2004/0237428 A1 of Headrick et al. and 2006/0211366 A1 and 2006/0229010 A1 of Villela et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,869 issued to Brotherton et al. discloses an injection-molded, shingle-over, sectional roof ridge vent having rows of spaced-apart baffles along outer longitudinally-extending edges of the vent.
While the sectional and rollable vents disclosed by the above referenced patents and published applications may function in an acceptable manner, there continues to be a need for alternatives with respect to the design, manufacture and installation of roof ridge vents. A desired vent should permit a sufficient amount of ventilating air flow without compromising weather infiltration resistance and should be capable of being properly installed in a manner requiring labor skills possessed by the average roof installer. In addition, the vent should be capable of efficient manufacture, storage, transportation and handling.